RANDOM DRUG SCREENING AT ISSUE

My child attends Oak Mountain High School, and I concur with the
editorial comments of Ronald Gentry.

I have instructed my daughter not to participate in the random drug
screenings required by the Shelby County School Board to park in a
tax-paid parking lot. Her privileges, too, have been denied after
recent refusal to participate in the random test.

Shelby County School Board officials will have Shelby County parents
believe that this is a matter of safety.

How can a school parking lot be completely ''safe'' when the
janitorial and cafeteria staff, principals and teachers are not held
to the same random tests? An impaired employee of the school system is
as large a threat as students ' 'under the influence.''

Why has the Shelby County School Board turned into Big Brother? Can
the parents in our county not assume the responsibility of properly
raising their own children?

If a child, under reasonable suspicion, appears to be impaired by
alcohol or drugs, why can the school system not contact the parent to
take control over the situation and have the child removed from the
school until the child conforms with the school's rules?

I am a child of the '70s, and my mother taught high school. In the
''good ol' days,'' the parents were responsible for their children's
actions, and still are last time I checked.

Why is it that the school can mandate to a parent the course of action
to be taken if a child is suffering from alcohol or drug addiction?

The current policy requires that any child refusing to take the random
drug test or failing the test must complete a drug education program
and will lose parking privileges for seven weeks.

After seven weeks and a ''clean'' drug test, the parking privileges
are returned. Will this actually have any long-lasting effect on a
chronic drug or alcohol abuser?

Lastly, why did the Shelby County Board of Education not ask the
parents whether they felt the need for the board's assistance in
raising ''our'' children? Is it not the school system's job to
educate?

Michele Trachy Zaragoza Inverness